Develop A Slight Edge

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Develop A Slight Edge

Develop A Slight Edge

You never know when that little something extra might make a big difference in the end. Races are won by hundredths of a second, and there are countless opportunities along the way to gain the slight edge that will make all the difference.

Everyone puts out maximum effort when the finish line is in sight. Only the true winner knows, however, that the race is not won at the end, but rather along the way. In fact, the true winner starts to win long before the race is even begun, by putting a little something extra into each training session.

A slight edge, every step of the way, will add up to a big advantage in the end. What can you do today, to improve your performance just a little bit over what you did yesterday? What little bit extra can you do for your boss, your spouse, your children, your customers, your friends, yourself? It adds up, until it is unstoppable. Just a little something extra, every day. Think about the power of that.

Be Creative

Useful creativity requires both discipline and open-mindedness. First is the process of integration and synthesis of a new idea. Everything new that is created — great buildings, works of art, businesses, complex machines, books, films — must first exist in the mind. New ideas come largely from the integration of existing concepts — combining and intermingling them in ways that have never before been expressed. This part of the creative process requires exposure to a diverse set of experiences and a broad spectrum of thinking.

Just as vital to creativity is the action necessary to bring ideas to reality. The creation of great architecture demands engineering and construction skills. The creation of great literature demands grammatical skills, and the ability to operate a printing press. Discipline and focus are necessary to manifest any creation.

It’s a bit of a paradox. In order to be fully creative, we must be very open-minded, while at the same time remaining disciplined and focused. A delicate balance, indeed. And balance is the key. In all great creations the idealistic coexists with the pragmatic in an elegant proportion. A great idea is worthless unless it is manifest. And a great skill is useless unless it has direction.

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